Timeless in Halkegina
by hermelien14
Summary: Years after the 'Dan incident', Danny, (now called Timeless) is now King of the Ghost Zone and husband to Ember Mclain. After a normal afternoon of training he gets summoned by Clockwork and gets told that he will be summoned to another unknown world. Taking on the mission of collecting two rings of Power he steps through the portal to become... the familiar of Zero?
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

Somewhere in the fast green dimension of the Ghost Zone, you can find two very special ghosts training with each other.

One girl looks to be around 17 years old with red shoulder length hair that flows into black at the tips, wearing a red tank top with a black leather long-sleeved jacket and tight black pants, with red and black combat boots. Her eyes glow an eerie red and around her neck hangs a Reaper necklace. In her hands, which are covered in black cloves with spikes around the wrist, she holds a very lethal looking scythe with a red and black colour pattern.

Her opponent is a boy looking to be around 19 years old with messy snow white hair with black tips, wearing a black tight fitting turtle neck tank top with black army pants with white lining and a silver hourglass key chain hanging from it. Around his wrists are multiple watches, each with a different power when activated and on his finger is a black and silver skull ring. He had florescent green eyes which seemed to glow, and a scar running from the left side of his face; just above the eye and stopping just above his lips, narrowly missing the eye and leaving him blind.

The boy is using a large black and silver halberd to counter all blows from the girl as they continue to try and land a blow on each other, they swirl around like they're dancing.

They are at each other's throat so fast that you would miss it if you blinked.

As the girl makes another swing for his middle, the boy sees an opening and uses it before the girl has a chance to retaliate. Striking with the side of the axe, she loses her balance and falls back, only to land on her ass. To emphasize his victory he pushes the blunt end of the halberd into her face.

'You were getting cocky again and left your side undefended. You really need to keep your head cool and think before you move. No rash moves. I could've easily ended you right now.' stated the boy seriously before he drew his weapon back and offered the girl a hand to help her up.

The girl scoffed and stood up on her own, ignoring the offered hand.

"How is it, that even after all this training, you still beat me with barely breaking a sweat?!" the girl asked, annoyed.

"You seem to forget that I have been doing this much longer than you.' The boy sighed. 'You might have been a full ghost a year longer than me but I had to fight and defend myself three years before that, teaching myself most of it. I started using weapons like these after one year being a halfa, because the ghosts I fought tended to be able to come closer to a point where shooting ectoplasm is no longer effective, and had to refer to hand-to-hand combat against swords and daggers. Of course, making swords and spears with my cryokinesis is handy but not if you don't know how to handle the weapons made. So, after another way too close call, I decided that I needed to learn how to handle various weapons and took lessons from Pandora and Frostbite. I am only this good because of basic self-preservation. And of course because I had good teachers, both chosen at random. Also, I now have so much more time to train. So do you. You will get better, you just have to work on keeping a level head during battle and keep your ego at home."

Of course that last statement pissed the girl of even further giving him the predicted result. Diving under the arm that was being swung at him, he gripped her arm and used the momentum to twist it around her back and throw her down on the ground.

"Again, too hot-headed to think straight. You should never let your opponent get to you." The boy said with a smirk on his face.

The girl huffed in annoyance.

A loud screech was heard followed by the flapping of wings, though it didn't sound like your normal everyday bird wings but rather more mechanic and big. Seconds later, a brown metal eagle came flying towards the two.

Standing up, the boy held out his left arm and the bird landed on his arm. The boy didn't even flinch as the sharp claws pressed in his arm nor did he shift as if the bird weighed nothing.

 _"_ _You have been summoned by the Master of Time. You are to meet him as soon as possible for time is of the essence."_ The bird said to the boy telepathically.

 _"_ _Time is always of the essence with the old man but I'll go to him right away_." The boy replied telepathically while rolling his eyes.

"Okay, playtime is over. I've got to go, Soul, duty calls." The boy said to the girl, now named as Soul.

Soul stood up whilst rubbing her now sore arm. "Fine, but I want to have a rematch when you get back and then I will kick your ass! Mark my words Timeless!"

"Keep training and maybe one day you will actually have a slight chance of beating me." Timeless said with a smirk on his face while putting on his black cloak, fastening it with a beautiful emerald brooch, which looked to have swirling green colours inside and pulling up the hood to completely cover his face.

He pushed of the ground, leaving Soul to her angry muttering and flew swiftly to the lair of his teacher, master and father, awaiting his orders for his next mission.

 **Clockworks lair, Ghost zone.**

As Timeless reaches the lair of Clockwork, he sees that his teacher is waiting for him. Knowing that he wouldn't just wait for him on the doorstep, for Clockwork as master of time can see what was, is and will be, he begins to worry if something might be wrong with his teacher. Hoping that Clockwork is just impatient, he lands in front of him with an anxious and confused look on his face.

Sensing his apprentice's discomfort he speaks to his student with a calm voice. "Don't worry Timeless, for I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me or my powers. I will explain why I was waiting for you once we are inside. Come."

Following the master inside, he slowly gets more curious. Sitting down on the couch, Timeless started petting the steel eagle, which landed on the armrest of the couch and clicked his beak in contentment.

"I know that you are curious as to why I was waiting outside for you." Clockwork started with a serious expression. "I stood there because I wasn't sure whether you were still in this world."

Now Timeless was truly confused. First of all, why would he leave the Ghost Zone and second, how was it that the great master of time could not see whether he was there or not.

Seeing his continuing confusion, Clockwork held up his hand and started to explain. "I understand your confusion. Do you remember when I explained to you that there are other worlds out there?" Timeless nodded, remembering the conversation. "Well, though I can see most worlds and their timelines, it seems that there is a world where my vision gets very blurry. I think it has to do with the magic in that world." After a pause Clockwork continues. "I am telling you this because I saw you being summoned to this world but because I couldn't see exactly when and why, I asked Cogwheel to bring you to me as soon as possible for I do know that it will be soon."

Timeless was silent for a moment, trying to process the fact that he was going to be summoned to a world with magic and where his teacher was unable to follow the events. 'Why would I be summoned, how long will I have to stay there and what am I going to tell Ember?' were the thoughts running through his mind.

Clockwork spoke again, pulling Timeless from his thoughts. "It is actually rather convenient that you are to be summoned to this world for I wanted to send you there in the close future anyways. It has come to my attention that there are a few powerful artifacts in that world that are dangerous to mortals when in the wrong hands. I want you to retrieve them. Also, as there are a few ghosts in that world it would be wise to meet them and let them know that they are welcome in the Ghost Zone when in need of contact with others of their kind. Who better to do that than the King of the Ghost Zone himself?" motioning to Timeless.

"That is good to know as I was planning to meet all the ghosts in the different dimensions and worlds at some point." Timeless said whilst nodding. "You said something about artifacts that are dangerous to mortals. I am assuming that they are ghost artifacts then?" He asked Clockwork with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Correct. These artifacts are rings much like the ring of rage that you are wearing on your finger so you have an idea of just how powerful they are." Timeless' eyes widened as Clockwork continued. "There are in total five rings of power. One you are wearing right now, two in the world of your summoner and two are still missing. I want you to retrieve the two rings so they can be stored safely. I will start looking for the others in your absence."

Timeless nodded and stood up and started to walk to the door. "Very well, I will retrieve the rings from that world. I now have to go and get ready for we do not know when exactly I will be summoned and if it is possible to return easily. Also I have to tell Ember about my temporary absence and make sure she'll be able to rule without me. Now, is there any more information you can give me about this world?" Timeless said turning to the Master of Time.

"I have told you everything I can tell you without disrupting the timeline. The only thing that I can add to my explanation is that the world does not know about ghosts and the ghosts that roam the world are called spirits and are both feared and looked up to." Putting a hand on Timeless' shoulder he spoke before turning around and focusing on his looking glasses. "Good luck and be safe."

Timeless turned around with a small smile on his face, the eagle landing on his shoulder. Flying back, he mulled over everything that was said and hoped that he had enough time to tell his wife about the recent development.

 **Timeless' lair, Ghost Zone**

His lair soon came into view. His lair was on a big piece of land floating around in the Ghost Zone. As King of the Ghost Zone he had a castle be built on it. Well, more like appear on it as the Ghost Zone can be shaped to the wishes of the ghosts. That is why every ghost has its own lair looking as it suits the ghost best.

Landing in front of the doors leading into the castle, he walked inside and to his chambers. On his way over there, he stopped a maid working in the hallways to ask if she could find his Queen and ask her come to their chambers. Urgently.

Once in their room he started to write down all the things that he planned to do and had to be done for the next two weeks, Cogwheel giving helpful additions. When he was just finished, his wife Ember came rushing into the room.

The Queen is a young women, looking to be around 19 years old with blue flaming hair in a high ponytail, a red short sleeved dress reaching just below the knees and long black trousers which both accentuated her figure and just below-the-knee grey boots. Her eyes had the same florescent green as her husband with a black curl under her right eye and a curved line under her left. Around her neck there was a black choker. Her hands were covered in black gloves.

"What is wrong?! Did something happen to you?! If that Soul so much as harmed a hair on your head, I'll…" Placing his left hand on her shoulder, he took her chin in his other hand and gently lifted her head up and kissed her gently on her lips, effectively shutting her up. Ember was frozen for a second before giving in and kissing him back. Breaking apart he embraced her resting his chin on her head. It still surprised him that her flaming hair did not burn. It felt more like normal soft hair flowing up instead of hanging down.

"Nothing happened, I am not harmed and nothing is wrong. It is just that I have to go away for a while and I don't know how long I have before leave." With a confused look on her face she asked how it was that he didn't know _when_ he would be leaving if he knew that _would_ be leaving.

Timeless chuckled, hearing the confusion in her voice. She sounded as confused as he was when he heard that Clockwork could not see if he was still in the Ghost Zone or not. He explained to her what Clockwork had told him, keeping out the details about the rings of power.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You are going to be summoned to a different world where the inhabitants wield magic, for an unknown reason and amount of time, whilst on a mission for Clockwork, where you will also meet new ghosts and try to get along with them, not knowing what they can do or what their ideals are?" She said summing up what has been said and counting down on her fingers.

"Pretty much" Timeless shrugged. "Also I have left you a list of things that I was planning on doing and things that have to be done in the next two weeks. I hope to be back by then or at least establish a conversation line with you so I can keep tabs on what happens in the Zone. Go to Clockwork, Frostbite or Dora if you have any questions." He hugged her again just to keep her close for as long as possible.

"You should take the Crown of Fire with you. That way you'll be strong enough to handle anything they can throw at you." Ember said to her husband.

"No, I am strong enough as I am and I do not want to leave you undefended. I know that you are strong but the crown gives you just that bit more to keep me happy. Also, if anything was to happen then I would know straight away, as the ring and crown are connected and I will come flying home for you." Timeless said with a comforting smile on his face.

At that moment he heard a voice whisper in the stillness, slowly getting stronger. _"… somewhere in the universe!..._ " Looking to try and find the source he sees the beginning of a blue portal. It started small but grew large enough for a Ghost his size to step through. It was just there, not swirling like the Ghost portals that he had grown used to. Knowing that this is the portal to transport him to a different world he turned to his wife and spoke with a sad smile on his face. "I guess that's my cue." He gave her a soft and quick kiss and turned around towards the portal.

"Try and come home before your death day. If you are not home the night before than I will find a way to come to you. I will not let you go through that alone. Not yet." She said with a stern expression.

He looked back just before completely stepping into the portal. "Thank you." He said sincerely, before disappearing to the world he just learned existed.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone.  
Thank you so much for reading, following and ****reviewing** **.**

 **There are a few things I want to say before you start reading the rest.**

 **First of all, the main idea of the story has been adopted for the story 'Phantom of a Zero' by Dr. Forgotten Fables after he unfortunately decided to leave Fanfiction. Credits for the idea go to him.**

 **Second, there are probably a few of you that wonder why i call Danny Timeless. Well this is because I loved the Timeless** **character from 'Master of Time's apprentice' from H0peless Her0 so much, I asked her to use her character for my story, which she agreed to. If you wish to know how Timeless came to be, read her story and you will know most of his history.**

 **Lastly, I want to ask you not to comment on my grammar. I know it's bad. This is because English is simply not my first language. You can comment on my grammar if you point me to my faults and give me the correct grammar. This way i can correct what is wrong.**

 **Beside that, please review. Helpful critics is welcome.**

 **Now i don't want to keep you from reading any longer. Enjoy the story!**

* * *

 _Chapter one_

 **Halkeginia, Tristan Academy of Magic.**

"Has every one summoned their respectful familiar?" asked an older bald man in purple robes with glasses and a wooden staff, known as Mister Colbert, as he looked around at his students and the creatures they summoned feeling pride for the wide variety of familiars.

"Not yet Mister Colbert. Miss Valiere still has to summon her familiar." Said a big busted young woman with red hair known as Kirche Zerbst with a mocking voice whilst petting a red flame lizard. Turning to the tiny girl with candy pink hair, she continued. "You said you could get something better than this, so let us witness that miracle." Everything about her attitude says that she is very sceptic about seeing anything near that impressive, if anything at all.

"Miss Zerbst, please refrain from making fun of your classmates." Said Mister Colbert before turning to Louise Valiere. "Louise, would you please step into the summoning circle and preform the summoning so you can start bonding with your familiars."

The pink haired girl huffed in annoyance, trying to keep her face void of emotions and her head held high as she made her way to into the summoning circle. At this her classmates backed away knowing what would happen if they stayed too close to Louise and her casting. Louise was very anxious. If she couldn't summon a familiar than she would be expelled and either loose her title as noble or be wedded to a suitor of her parents' choice. She did not want that to happen. After all her work to stay in school another year, she couldn't lose it now that she had gotten this far.

Standing in the circle, she pushed all the negative thoughts to the back of her mind so she could focus fully on summoning a familiar, and not let the place explode as all her previous spells, big or small, ended with. She started chanting her spell. "My slave who lives somewhere in the universe!..."

Everyone able to hear her chant had confused looks on their faces as the spell was different than any they had heard before.

Mister Colbert was a bit baffled as he heard the words she used to summon her familiar. A familiar was not a slave. A familiar was a protector, friend and sometimes, when smart enough, an advisor in the life of the mage. He, too, took a step back, wondering what familiar she would summon.

"Oh sacred, beautiful and strong familiar spirit." She continued, unaware of the looks on the faces of the spectators. "Hear my desire from my heart! Answer to my call!"

She flickered her wand and for a second nothing happened. It was an agonizing second were she was afraid that she blew her spell. Until she literally blew it. A huge explosion happened and the spectators fell to the ground. Everyone was temporarily blinded by the dust cloud that was thrown up during the blast.

Coughing could be heard as a few inhaled a bit too much dust. A few students started to mutter about how they know that this would happen.

"Are you all right, Montmorency?" asked a blond boy called Guiche, who liked to push the uniform regulations to woo the female students. A blond girl with a big red bow in her hair, who sat on the ground in shock, pointed to the dust cloud where Louise was still standing.

As Guiche looked up he saw a dark figure standing in front of Louise. He was bigger than Guiche and was hidden in a black cloak which faded to white near his ankles. He had the hood pulled over his face so that all you saw was a pair of glowing green eyes and the last few inches of his face. The emerald brooch that held his cloak together was absolutely stunning in Guiche's mind, and he knew beauty.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a screech of a bird unlike anything he had ever heard before. Looking around trying to locate the source he was speechless as to what he saw.

What could only be described as a large metal bird of prey, with soul piercing red eyes and a glowing white aura, flew in circles above the stunned students and teachers before suddenly nose diving towards Louise, claws stretched out as if to scar her for life.

As fast as it started its nosedive, it pulled up, a mere few inches from Louise's face. As it pulled back up, it circled around and landed on the arm the dark figure held stretched out where he started to pet the bird as if to calm it down.

Everyone was called out of their stupor when Kirche started to shout out to Louise. "Ha! There is no one else who can pull off what you did. Summoning a shady character with a bird at his command out to kill you the first moment it sees you. Truly remarkable Louise. Though you did summon something, which is more than we all expected, it seems to go against its master immediately." Louise turned towards Kirche with a red face of embarrassment, shock and anger. "Shut up, Zerbst!" turning to Mister Colbert she continued "Please let me try again! I cannot have this creep for a familiar especially with the killer bird of his!" She was pleading Colbert to give her a second change but Colbert would not have it. "I cannot let you summon again Miss Valiere. The ritual is sacred and it would be blasphemy for you to try again. Please finish binding the contract so you can get to know your familiar. He might not be as bad as you thing he is." Colbert said with a serious face.

During all this, Timeless was having a conversation with Cogwheel while looking at his surroundings.

 _"_ _Why did you try to attack that girl? You know as well as I do that you should not start attacking humans when just arriving in a new dimension."_ Timeless said telepathically in an accusing tone.

 _"_ _I know but I just got startled by the sudden explosion. Instinct kicked in and all I wanted was to protect you from the one that could potentially harm you. It's what I was assigned to do."_ Cogwheel said with his head held down in shame.

 _"_ _I know you can't really help it. Just try to think before giving in to the instinct to protect me. I don't want to lose you. I am very capable of protecting myself and from what I can see so far there is nothing here that could potentially harm me. Remember that, alright? You mean a lot to me."_ Timeless stroked the head of Cogwheel who in turn nipped on his finger in a comforting manner.

There was a silent moment between the two of them for a second before Timeless stared to take in the place and the people around him. He didn't recognize the building style of the building. The clothing the teenagers wore reminded him of a school uniform, though there were a few who probably pushed the regulations as far as possible. They were all wearing a cape over their blouse instead of a jacket. He also noticed that most, if not all, of the teenagers had an animal with them. He saw a few regular animals like a snake and an owl but he also saw very strange creatures. He saw a big red lizard with a flaming tail, a blue dragon unlike any he had seen before and… was that a floating eyeball?! _"So that is how the observers looked like before they died."_ Timeless thought with a chuckle.

He turned his attention back to the teenagers, specifically the girl with the candy pink hair that Cogwheel tried to attack earlier. As he watched the interaction between her and an old looking bald man with a wooden staff, he noticed that the language was old French. _"Thank you Clockwork, for teaching me so many languages."_ He mentally thanked his teacher. He listened to the conversation for more information on who summoned him here and why. He got the last part of the conversation before the girl turned to him.

Taking this as his cue, he decided to introduce himself.

Bowing towards the girl, not too deep to keep Cogwheel from falling off his shoulder where he moved to when he took in his surroundings, he introduced himself.

"Good day my lady. My name is Timeless and the metal eagle here is Cogwheel." He paused for a moment, whilst standing back up, to see her reaction. He could see that the girl was a bit shocked to hear him speak in such a well manner. Seeing that he would not receive a response he didn't continue. "If I may, were you the one who summoned me and if so, why? I see no immediate danger so may I ask as to how I may be of service to you?" He continued in as if he was talking to royalty in the Ghost Zone to ease the tension he could feel in the air. " _After the first bad impression of Cogwheel I better stay as nice as possible to avoid any problems in the future."_

The girl finally seemed to get over her stupor as she responded to him with her head held high. "My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere and I summoned you to become my familiar."

Timeless did not like the tone she used to address him. It sounded as if she talked down on him and it had a disappointed tone to it as if she expected… more. Well, she had something coming to her. Also what did she mean with him becoming her 'familiar'?

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance Louise. I apologize, but it seems that I do not recognize what you mean by familiar. Would you care to elaborate?" He said, still as polite as he could though it now had a colder tone to it.

Louise didn't hear the cold tone in his voice or simply chose to ignore it. "A familiar is a servant of a mage. Every mage has a familiar and they are to serve them until death do them part. As I have summoned you, you are to be my familiar." Louise said superciliously.

Her attitude was seriously starting to bug Timeless. " _Servant?! It seems that she does not know who she is dealing with! How dare she!"_ Cogwheel was pissed and breezing on Timeless' shoulder, flapping his wings and chackling in anger. It took Timeless a moment to calm him down and when he looked back to Louise he saw that she had taken a few steps back. _"Smart, not that it would have helped you."_ He heard Cogwheel say and he silently agreed.

"Could you tell me what exactly you expect me to do?" He asked, forgoing the well-mannered words he could have used. "You are to protect me, stay by my side and obey my every command and love doing it." She started soft but her voice quickly gained volume as if there was no argument to be made about this. She was about to add more to the list of jobs he would have to do as a familiar when he stopped her from continuing.

"Let me stop you right there." Timeless said with a voice a hard as stone. He would have none of it. "I did not leave behind my existence to become some slave to a girl as ill-mannered as you. Now, if you will excuse me, I will return home for I have far more important business to attend to than listening to a girl's whims."

Timeless turned around to find a peaceful place to open up a ghost portal back home, when he was addressed by the old man. "My apologies sir, but it seems that Miss Valliere is a bit confused about the duties of a familiar. A familiar is the partner of a mage and a protector. The familiar is to be his or her other half, a servant of sorts but by no means a slave. A familiar is cared for by the mage and the familiar in turn takes care of the mage." The man explained to prevent the hooded figure from leaving before knowing the full and right reason of his summoning.

Timeless turned back around and looked at the man to see if he spoke the truth.

Not seeing an indication otherwise he addressed the man in the polite way as he started with Louise. "Thank you for clearing that up mister…?"

"Colbert, Jean Colbert. I am the teacher of the students you see before you." Colbert added.

"Students hmm. Am I right to assume that this is a school of magic then as you were talking about mages?" Timeless asked Colbert.

"Correct. You are in the best school of magic in Halkeginia, Tristan's school of magic." Colbert answered proudly.

Louise was getting irritated. First she summons a shady person and his crazy bird, after which said bird tried to attack her before flying back to its owner. Then, the person knows nothing about familiars and acts out after she explains what it means to be her familiar. And lastly he turns to Mister Colbert without as much as looking at her as if she didn't exist. She would have to teach her familiar some manners about obeying ones master once they were in her room.

"You have peaked my interest Mister Colbert and I am very interested into learning and seeing as to what this world has to offer but before we get to that I want to ask whether it is possible for me to discuss the terms of this partnership with Miss Valliere."

At the mention of her name, Louise turned to look at her familiar who looked at her in turn. Neither seemed ready to budge and though Colbert really couldn't blame the hooded figure, they had to make amends to make this work. Knowing how proud the nobles could be, with Miss Valliere as a prime example, Colbert decided to intervene before things got explosive. "I suggest that we continue this conversation behind closed doors. Miss Valliere, Mister Timeless, if you would please follow me so we can discuss the 'terms' of your partnership."

Louise all but scoffed as she followed Colbert inside the main tower to the headmaster. Why had she had to make amends with her familiar? He was summoned here to serve, protect and adore her. She did not ask for some boy, for she could here from his voice that he was not that old, who had the nerve to refuse becoming her familiar. Now her classmates had another reason to tease her.

They entered an office and found an older man with long white hair and a beard, wearing long black robes. Timeless could sense the magic coming from the man and the area. The way Mister Colbert introduced the man, Timeless figured that he must be the headmaster of sorts. In his eyes he seemed wise and strong in terms of magic.

Colbert explained the situation to the headmaster whom he had introduced as Headmaster Osmond. Osmond listened and didn't say anything. His eyes widened a bit at hearing that Louise had summoned the black clad figure, whom he figured to be human, and again when he was told that the figure simply refused to be her familiar. After the explanation he exchanged a meaningful look with Mister Colbert before speaking up.

"It seems you have summoned quite the familiar Miss Valliere. It is not common for a mage to summon a human. In fact, I don't think it has ever happened before." Osmond said turning to Louise. He continued, turning to Timeless. "As such I am curious about your origin. Could you tell me something about whom you are and where you came from? Also if I may, do you mind taking down the hood? I would like to see the face of the first human familiar in history." Osmond said with curiosity clearly in his voice.

Timeless chuckled before replying to the headmaster. "I understand where you are coming from Headmaster Osmond. It is a common mistake made by mortals but I'll have you know that I am no longer just human and as such I will explain briefly just who I am and more importantly what I am. As for showing my face, I don't really mind taking it down but I have a nasty scar running down my face so as long as you don't stare, I will honour your request. I must ask you though that everything you hear and see stays between these walls until I decide otherwise. I hope that is okay with you?"

To say that the others in the room were surprised was an understatement. Not only is this creature not human as they originally thought it also requested to remain just that, an assumed human being.

Osmond was the first to respond. "Very well, I promise that what will be said and seen will stay between these walls. Please continue."

Timeless took down his hood and looked at the others. The adult seemed unfazed but Louise was taken aback by what she saw. She always thought him to be relatively young from his voice. Now that she saw his face she knew she was right, but at the sight of his eyes and the long dark scar that ran down the left side of his face, she started to doubt. Louise could see wisdom, experience and mystery in those eyes which is what you'd normally see in an old man who would have lived a long live and tried to keep certain life experiences to himself.

"I think a proper introduction is in order." Timeless said after a second of silence. He made a bow when he continued. "My name is Timeless, Master of Time's apprentice and King of the Ghost Zone." He said with authority in his voice. "You probably don't know the term ghost so I will refer to them as Spirits. I do believe you are familiar with that term?" He asked Osmond looking for a confirmation who nodded in turn.

"Good. Now as such it is not odd for you to think that I am human for I am the soul of my previous life that refused to move on after death. I am in simple words an undead human with some special powers. The eagle on my shoulder is Cogwheel. He is what you could call my familiar though he is no servant. He is more like a friend and partner in the afterlife. This is what I am prepared to be to you, Louise. I am prepared to stay here for a while and to act as a protector and partner. Maybe even a friend if you wish it. I will not however become your servant. I have seen servants on our way here and if you have chores to be done than you can turn to them to do it. These are my terms. If you do not agree to these than I will take my leave and continue my mission on which I have been sent before the summoning. I do hope you are willing to agree to the terms as I am very interested to stay at the school a while longer so I can get an insight on the status of this world and the magic it possesses. This is, of course, also in consent with Lord Osmond as headmaster of the school. So what do you say, Louise?"

Louise was a bit baffled as she still tried to come over the fact that he is one of the great spirits. No, not just one of them but the king of all spirits. Also she now finally knew what exactly spirits are, for she never understood where they came from or how they came to be. She now wondered how old the seemingly 19 year old boy exactly was.

She tried to focus on the terms that spirit king had set for her. She was conflicted. First of all, she summoned him, making him her loyal familiar. He should not be making terms and just accepting his fate. On the other hand, he was a KING. He had supposedly every right to make amends to the familiar contract. She was kind of glad that he was as it proved that she didn't just summon an ordinary familiar, not that she would admit that. She weighed her options one last time before making her decision. Turning to Timeless she said "Fine, I agree to those terms as long as you stay close to me. You are now my partner and protector and though you are not my servant I expect you to be loyal to me. You will take care of me as I will take care of you. Do we have a deal?"

Though she had said this with a supercilious tone, Timeless had seen how conflicted she was and was therefore grateful for her agreeing to his terms. It will take some time but he will get her to open up to him in due time. Maybe he will be able to count her as a friend when he leaves for home.

"You have a deal. Now how do we sign this contract? I haven't seen anyone writing this down so how do we go from here?" Timeless asked, looking to the elders in the room. At that moment Louise stepped forwards towards Timeless and held out her wand. "My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, bless this humble being and make him my familiar!" After her chant she gripped him by his cloak, pulling his face towards hers. Before Timeless could prevent it from happening he felt her lips on his. He froze, trying to face the fact that someone else, besides his wife, was kissing him.

She pulled away a second later. To say that Timeless was upset with her was an understatement. He was furious but most of all he was anxious for the reaction of his wife when she would find out, for she will find out. The Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage didn't just power each other up. They were connected. As such he was able to feel what she felt and the other way around when the emotions were strong enough. He knew that she felt his shock. It was just a matter of time before...

Talk about the devil. He felt her concern and anxiety before he could even try to cover it up. So to just get it over with immediately he took off his ring and held it out in front of him, creating a sphere of energy around it.

"Now don't get scared for this is because you kissed me before I had a say in it. You will now meet the only one still 'alive' who is able to effectively scare me." He told the adults and Louise who had a scared expression on her face. The others had a curious expression mixed with anxiety, unsure what to expect. They took a step back when the sphere grew to the size of a full body mirror. It looked like one but instead of seeing Timeless' reflection in it, they saw a young woman in a red dress and black tight pants and blue FLAMING hair upon which she wore a green crown. She wore a worried expression and spoke in a language that nobody but Timeless understood.

 _"_ _Baby Pop, what happened? I felt your shock then anger and then you being scared. What is there to scare you like that? Do you need me to come over so you have both the crown and ring there? I can be there in a second if need be, I'll just call Wulf. You know what, I'll call him right now. If there is something there to scare you like that than you will need me."_ At this point she was rambling from anxiety.

At first Timeless was speechless but then he started to chuckle at his wife's antics. She maybe a hard rocker and a fearless fighter but she was still worried about his wellbeing before anything else. It's one of the reasons he loves her so much.

Seeing the calm and relaxed expression of Timeless she stopped and looked around the room Timeless was in and saw that no one and nothing was threatening him. Annoyed she crossed her arms and stared down at Timeless, floating a bit of the ground to do so. _"Okay, what is happening here? Why were your emotions spiking when there is seemingly nothing wrong and who are these people?"_

 _"_ _Nice to see you too, Ember. Good to see you react so fast though I must ask you to calm down. Nothing happened that I can't handle. I was merely got off guard and you responded so fast that I didn't really had the chance to tell the humans here what happened. They speak French, I don't believe that Clockwork got around to teaching you languages. So could you introduce yourself and I will translate for them."_ Timeless explained to Ember before turning to the others.

"My name is Ember Mclain, Queen of the Ghost Zone and wife to Timeless. I have come before you because I felt that my husband was in distress, he has yet to explain to me why. Please tell me who you are and what your relations are with my husband." Ember said with a regal voice, Timeless translating all the while.

Louise recognized that she was indeed a queen and though not hers, she didn't want to show any disrespect so she kneeled down when she spoke, which Timeless in turn translated. "My name is Louise Valliere and I am the one that summoned your husband into this world. I didn't know that it was him that would be summoned. I didn't mean to separate the two of you. I was simply in need of a, err, partner and protector and it seems that he was the one that fit the bill." Louise said, wisely avoiding the word servant.

"A better protector you won't find. If I may, what will be the dangers that my husband will be exposed to?' Ember asked.

Osmond spoke before Louise could. "None if we can help it. Miss Valliere is a student and we do not wish to place our students in harm's way. For now Mister Timeless will be her partner who will stay by her side and learn about the land and its customs and maybe in turn tell us a bit about your land?" The old man enquired.

"Very well. In that case you will have enough time for meeting the other ghost in this world and complete the mission for Clockwork. This way you may be able to come back home early." Ember said in an exited tone. "You do what you need to and I will see you soon. I need to go now because I have to get started on the list that you left me… _See you soon baby-pop_." With that Ember disappeared and the mirror shrunk back into the ring. Taking the ring from the air, Timeless put the ring back on his finger.

"That went better than expected. Now that you know whom you're dealing with, shall we continue this at a later time? I would like to get to know my partner a bit better, if that's oke with you of course." Timeless said fingering the ring on his left hand.

"Yes, of course. Colbert and I need to discuss some business. Make yourself at home." Old Osmond said. With that Timeless and Louise walked out of the office towards her room.

The held a queen size bed, a dresser, a big closet and a table. In the corner by the bed was a pile of hay. "I see you expected to summon something with a little less sentiency. Luckily I need a minimal amount of sleep, only 3-4 hours per day. More if I extort myself. Anyways, where do you suggest I sleep for tonight, Louise?" Timeless asked whilst looking around the room.

"Right, should have asked lord Osmond for a room so you can stay close to me. I will do so tomorrow. For now you will have to ask one of the maids if they have a room downstairs. Also fetch me a maid so she can wash my clothes. Oh and you are to wake me at dawn. Breakfast will be shortly after so make sure you're on time or there will be no breakfast." Louise said whilst starting to undress.

Timeless turned to the window, looking at the stars that he had not seen for five years. "I believe we came to the agreement that I would not be serving as your servant so why, pray tell, are you still ordering me around?" Timeless said without turning around until he heard the covers of the bed rustle.

"You may be a king but you are still my familiar and as such you are to obey me. These orders are very reasonable as you can call the maid to come here after she has shown you to your room. As for the waking, you cannot go into the dining hall without me as you wish to remain 'human' and thus a lowly familiar. Also, I think you still don't know your way around here so I can also act as guide and maybe answer some of your questions about this world as we walk towards the dining hall. So it is a win-win. Now get to it, I wish to go to sleep as soon as the maid has left so hurry it a bit would you."

Timeless stood there in shock for a good few seconds before prompt turning to the door and leaving, grumbling all the way. _'Outwitted by a damn teenager. How did I not see this coming?!'_ breezed Timeless. _"Technically you are still a teenager yourself. Being stuck in you 19 year old body."_ Cogwheel enquired. _"Oh, shut up. You know very well what I mean. I may look 19 but I have been 19 for almost sixty years. Making me nearly eighty years old, so don't give me that. Let's just find a maid so I can look around for a bit and go stargazing."_

Timeless turned a corner and walked past two students. One of them was a girl with brown hair and cloak and the other a boy he saw earlier at the summoning. He is blond with a blue cloak and a rose. Timeless could swear that he saw him earlier with another girl with blond hair and a big red bow in her hair.

As he kept waking he picked up a bit of their conversation. "… and I am well known for my delicious soufflés. I can bake you some so you can try them." The girl said with a pink blush on her face. "I'd be honoured Katie. I would love to try your soufflés." The boy said with a charming smile on his face, one that would make the girls woo.

Moving on, Timeless arrived at the inner court of the school. It had already gotten dark and as he looked up, he could see two giant moons. One had a blueish sheen and the other pink. Even with all the light they gave off, Timeless could still see entire constellations. Taking in the view for a moment, he sat down and leaned against the walls of the school. Louise could wait a little longer on the maid.

He had no idea how long he sat there as he saw movement from the corner of his eyes. Looking up he saw a maid with blue blackish hair and a traditional maid outfit carrying a basket with freshly washed laundry. _'Exactly the person I need'_ thought Timeless.

"Hello there, madam." Timeless said whilst standing up to walk over to her. "Hello there, sir. How can I help you?" The maid responded. "I was told to find a maid so that she might so me to a room and also to send her to my err… master. She needs her laundry done." Timeless wanted to say something else but he wanted everyone to think that he was human and as a normal mortal, he would not have been able to make amends to the familiar contract.

"I see. You're Louise's familiar, right? Why would you need your own room? Familiars normally sleep in the room of their master, if you don't mind me asking that is." The maid said. "That is correct. My name is Timeless and I am indeed the familiar of Louise. May I ask your name miss?" Timeless said politely. Meanwhile they walked back to the school. "My name is Siesta. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with sir Timeless." Siesta said with a slight bow. "Nice to meet you, Siesta. As for your questions, we decided to sleep separately as I am no animal, so I cannot sleep on the hay and I rather not share a room with a girl as that could cause complications. Do you have a room available for tonight only as I will probably be moved to a room close to Louise's?"

Siesta thought for a moment. "I think we have a room vacant but it will not be a very nice room as it is used for the staff. I hope that is not a problem?" Siesta asked. "No, not at all. I do not require a lot of luxury. I simply need a bed to sleep on and a stand for Cogwheel to rest." Timeless said motioning to the bird on his shoulder. "We can arrange that for you. Let me just first deliver these clothes to their owner and then I can lead you to your room." Siesta said. "Let me help you with that. I still don't really know my way around here so if you can show me and tell me a bit about the school than that would be great. After you ma'am." Timeless said politely.

They walked around the school and Siesta told Timeless about the work she did at the school and about the difference between the years and its students. She told him about the facilities within the school. They were at Timeless' new room faster than either of them thought. Timeless still had many questions. He did find out however that the school had its own library which he would visit this night.

"Thank you very much for showing me around Siesta. I enjoyed listening to you. I am grateful that you went out of your way to show me around and telling me about the place. If there is ever anything I can help you with please let me know ok?" Timeless said with a goofy but happy smile. Siesta blushed a bit.

"I-it was nothing. I enjoyed myself as well. Uhm… I have to go to Louise for her laundry and then to the kitchen so I can retire for the night. I wish you a good night Mr. Timeless." Siesta said with a bow.

"Please Siesta, I consider you a friend and as such you can call me Danny. I will see you tomorrow. Good night Siesta." Timeless said before turning around and closing the door.

"Good night… Danny." Siesta said softly before walking away. She had to get her thoughts strait as all she could think about was a certain mysterious white and black haired boy.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone!  
**

 **I am so sorry for letting you wait for so long! Stuff happened and I was unable to concentrate on writing. Also I was kinda stuck on how the last scene.  
Anyways, here is the newest chapter to TiH! **

**Enjoy and don't forget to review. Helpful criticism welcome!**

* * *

 _Chapter two_

"Louise, it's dawn. Would you wake up?" Timeless said shaking Louise awake. "What... who are you?" Louise asked, still half asleep.

"I am your fairy god mother, now wake up already or you are going to be late for the ball." Timeless said sarcastically with an eye roll and a small smile on his face.

"Right, you're the familiar I summoned, the one that disagreed with the fact that he would be my servant." Louise said groaning whilst sitting up.

The smile disappeared immediately. "Yeah, that's me. You said breakfast started after dawn and I don't want to be late. I will summon a maid for you to help you get dressed and ready. Now get up." Timeless said with authority in his voice, walking out of the room and closing the door.

"Stupid familiar, thinking he can order ME around." Louise huffed when Timeless had left the room.

* * *

Timeless was annoyed. He had slept well after Siesta left. When he woke up three hours and 43 minutes later and wanted to wash his face, he found out that he had strange runes on his left hand. He did not remember where they came from or when they appeared. As he wanted to decipher the runes, he decided to check the library of the school in search of a book that might tell him what they meant. He was soon disappointed as he found out that he couldn't read the writings in this land. He tried to teach himself how to read the writing but with no idea of what each sign meant or how they were pronounced, he soon gave up. He walked around the school for a while trying to remember where the runes came from, when he felt a familiar power surge on the third floor of the main tower. When he tried to walk through the wall to see the source of the power he had walked into the wall instead. Ghost proof, great. Now he had another mystery that he could not solve immediately.

When he stepped back outside, he noticed that the sky had started to change colours to bright pink and orange, meaning that the day was approaching fast and that he had to wake the young girl that wanted nothing more than to call herself his 'master'. Unfortunately for him, he will have to accept that when he is in the company of others as he would like to keep his identity a secret for now.

He walked into Louise's room when he saw that she was still deeply asleep. Seeing her asleep so peacefully and innocently lifted his spirits somewhat only for her to ruin it the moment he woke her up. _'Right, yeah, that's me, deal with it. It's not like I want to be here either…'_ he thought annoyed. After announcing that he would get her a maid to help her get dressed, he walked back outside, found a maid and sat down on the grass, waiting for Louise to come down.

He had just closed his eyes to feel the rays of the sun when he felt something shift beside him. Opening one eye, he saw two big bright blue eyes staring at him. It took him a great deal of self-control not to jump up and run away screaming when he saw the ice blue dragon stare at him.

"G-good morning." Timeless said to break the silence and see what the dragon's reaction would be. He did not expect it to talk to him.  
 _"Good morning Great Spirit. It is nice to see you so relaxed."_ He heard the dragon say. His left hand glowed under his fingerless gloves and he felt a slight tingle through his hand when the dragon 'spoke'.

Another thing that surprised Timeless was the fact that the dragon knew that he was a ghost. When he was still alive, he never had animals react differently to him except, of course, the ghost animals like Cujo. After his death he never really got the chance to check if the animals did react differently.

"How did you know that I am a spirit? The humans didn't notice, not even the headmaster. Would you mind not telling anyone? I would rather they not know for now except for a select few." Timeless asked the dragon.  
 _"You can understand Illococoo, even when Illococoo is Sylphid?"_ The dragon asked startled.

"Yes, so it seems." Timeless said, looking at his left hand, which still glowed.

" _It must be because you are a spirit or it might be from when you became a familiar."_ The dragon said, jumping up and down in excitement. _"Big Sister said that some beings get new abilities when they become a familiar."_ The dragon said pushing its nose into Timeless as he laughed. Timeless couldn't help it. The energy and happiness of the dragon was contagious. After such a bad start of the day, he really needed someone or something to laugh with.

Unfortunately it didn't last long. "Familiar, get over here. It's time to join the others for breakfast." Louise said, walking out of the dormitory.  
"Can you at least call me by my name?" Timeless said with an annoyed sigh whilst standing up to join Louise.

Together they walked into the dining hall and to one of the tables. Having to keep up the roll of 'servant', Timeless pulled out a chair for Louise to sit on. After she was seated he stood behind her chair overlooking the breakfast hall. He did not need to eat as much as when he was alive and so could wait until dinner before he ate something.

Nothing was said between familiar and master as Louise continued her breakfast while Timeless kept looking around. With Coqwheel on his shoulder he had an extra pair of eyes looking around. Though he knew that there was no immediate danger, he kept his guard up. _'Old habits die hard I guess'_ Timeless thought.

A group of students with dark cloaks like Louise's came in and walked towards the other side of the table right across Louise. Figuring that they must be classmates of Louise he paid them barely any attention. That is until the redhead started talking.

"It seems you came to an 'agreement' with your familiar. It is truly intriguing to have a familiar summoned that completely disagrees with you being it's master. You must be so grateful to Colbert sensei for keeping your familiar from completely bailing on you." Zerbst said with a smirk. The others behind her started to chuckle.

Louise tried to ignore them and stay focused on her breakfast but Timeless could see that Louise tensed. Seeing her discomfort he leaned over Louise and whispered in her ear. "I can see the discomfort they cause you. As your protector I suggest that you let me speak openly to prevent any future discomfort." Louise's eyes flashed to his, then to the chuckling group before her and then to her plate. Louise was curious as to what Timeless was planning to say. She really despised being made fun of all the time so she let him. With a curt nod to Timeless, he stood up, staring straight at the group before them.

Timeless abruptly bent over the table beside Louise, setting both his hands on the table and leaning slightly over, silencing everyone around the table. Timeless picked up where the last comment off the group was left hanging, eyes shining a radiating green under his hood.

"Let me be abundantly clear. Just because I was misinformed about the terms of being a familiar and thus decided to leave, does not give you the right to pester my master about this. And as I have accepted my fate as familiar, I am now the partner and protector of Louise. As such, I will not accept any ill words to or about Louise." Standing up straight, he looked the students straight in the eyes, his eyes flashing red for a second before changing back to green. "You would do well to remember that."

The cold tone of his voice sent shivers down everyone's spine. Zerbst and the group of students around her were absolutely flabbergasted as they walked away trying to comprehend that they were just told off by a lowly familiar.

Louise was dumbstruck as well but more about the fact that there was someone willing to stand up for her. Yes, he was her familiar and it was his job to protect her but she had never expected him to take it so seriously. She just hoped that he wouldn't be reprimanded for this later.

She was still thinking about this when Timeless turned to her. "I am sorry you had to hear that. If I had known sooner what their intentions were then I would have put a stop to it before they had the chance to hurt you. It seems that there will always be bullies, no matter where I go." Timeless said with regret in his voice.

"Thank you" He heard Louise mutter. Deciding it would be better to leave it at that, Timeless nodded and went back watching the room.

* * *

After breakfast, they walked outside to the inner court of the school. Tables were set up and there were second year students talking to each other and interacting with their familiars.

"What is this? Do you not have classes to attend?" Timeless asked curiously. "No, the second year students have the first two periods off so they can get to know their respective familiar." Louise said, walking to one of the empty tables.

Pulling out a chair for Louise to sit on, Timeless looked around the area. "Go and get us some tea. I am sure you have questions that need to be answered." Louise commanded him. Not paying attention to the commanding tone, he went to a table in the back with tea and cakes on it. He saw Siesta with a tray with tea and cake, weaving through the tables. Just before he wanted to turn back around towards the table, he saw the flying eyeball drift onto the path that Siesta was about to take towards another table. Siesta, who noticed the creature too late, yelped in shock and stumbled backwards.

Suddenly Timeless was there to catch her and the tray, spilling nothing on it. Helping Siesta back on her feet he asked her if she was alright. "Y-yeah, I'm fine" Siesta stuttered. "How did you do that? You were on the other side of the field. How can you be here in less than a second?" Siesta asked Timeless, voicing the question for several others who watched what had happened. Scratching the back of his neck over his hood he responded. "That is for me to know and for you to find out…"

There was a short silence before he continued. "Err, well, let me help you with those. I bet you are still a bit shaken up. Where do they have to go?" Timeless said, taking over the tray with tea and cake. Shaking her head as if to shake away the confusion she responded. "Over there. They are for lord Guiche and Miss Montmorency."  
"Thank you Siesta. Would you be so kind as to deliver some tea to Louise when you feel up to it? I'll be right back."

' _Well, that was risky, teleporting to the maid so you could catch her. You are lucky no one paid attention when you did or they would know you are more than you seem."_ Coqwheel said to Timeless, still on his shoulder. Timeless rolled his eyes though he knew that Coqwheel could not see it. _'I am going for a flight. You might not mind not eating but I would like a mouse every now and then. I'll stay close so let me know if you need me for anything.'_ Cogwheel said before flying off.

After delivering the tea and cake to the table, he turned around back towards the table with the tea and cake to return the tray. Almost by the table he was addressed by a girl with brown hair and cloak carrying a white picnic basket. "Excuse me. Have you seen Lord Guiche anywhere?" Looking back to the table he just came from, he sat the tray down on the table and responded. "Yeah I saw him just a moment ago. Here let me take you there." Timeless said politely and started to guide the girl to Guiche's table.

They were just in sight of the table when Guiche seemed to panic and started to pull Montmorency away, leaving his familiar, a giant mole, behind. _'That's odd.'_ Timeless thought. He had not done anything to warrant such a reaction and he was pretty sure he had hidden his aura from the others.

Mulling over what could have set off the reaction, he had slowed down. The girl however ran forward towards Guiche. Guiche, who looked even more panicked, was desperately trying to defend himself. Timeless, who had stopped walking at that point, listened to the conversation to figure out what had set Guiche off. He soon understood that it was not his doing that had Guiche panicked.

"You said I was the only one." The brown haired girl said with tears in her eyes. "Please girls, just listen to what I have to say." Guiche said, with his hands up as if to say for them to calm down. "You liar!" shouted both girls. They both slapped him hard in the face and stormed off, Guiche looking dazed.

"Talk about 'chickens come home to roost'." Timeless said, effectively breaking Guiche from his stupor.

"You! This is your fault. If you hadn't mingled in business that is not yours, two girls would have been spared from their tears. It seems that you do not know how to pay the proper respects to nobility." Guiche said, glaring at Timeless.

Timeless was baffled. Firstly he had always been polite to everyone, showing the right customs to the 'nobility' as they called themselves. He thought they were nothing more than children with an overblown ego, whom never learned to value life. Secondly, Guiche dared to blame him for making two girls cry while HE was the one two-timing them. He only led Katie (he learned the brown haired girls name during the argument) to Guiche's table because she had requested it. He didn't deserve this attitude especially from this kid!

"I pay my respect to the ones that deserve it. As of now you will no longer hold that privilege." Timeless said before turning around and walking back to Louise's table.

"How dare you talk to me like that! It is obvious that you need a lesson in proper manners and I intend to give it to you as it seems that your _master_ is incapable of doing so herself. I hereby challenge you to a duel."

Timeless stood very still before slowly turning around. "You don't have what it takes to challenge _me._ " Timeless said with a hard voice, empathizing 'me'. "And you'd be wise to leave Louise out of this or you will learn real quick that what I _lack_ in manners, I make up for in loyalty and strength."

"I am not buying the scary look and cold voice. Since the moment that you came here you have yet to remove that hood of yours which is yet another sign of your lack of manners. If you are so sure of your strength, you will fight me. Be at the Vestri Court in ten minutes and come prepared." Guiche said before dramatically turning around walking away, cloak fluttering behind him.

"I heard everything. Normally I would demand you apologize to him to stop this madness but you are in the right. Besides, you wouldn't listen even if I did." Louise said as she walked to Timeless. "Just promise me you will go easy on him. He might be a jerk and a two-timer but he still has a whole life ahead of him. Who knows, he might learn from his mistakes."

Timeless stayed still, trying to decide his next course of actions. ' _Should I go or avoid the confrontation and keep up my façade of being a normal human? No, I long passed that when I threatened Guiche. Go all out and let everyone know just whom they are dealing with? No, too risky. I don't want everyone to be scared of me. Do nothing except defend myself and go with the flow? That wouldn't really soothe my pride but it is probably the best option. Maybe I could just let Guiche know that I am not to be trifled with, maybe use my time powers to do so? Nah, that would be too exhausting, he wasn't worth that trouble. Let's just go with the flow and see where we end up.'_

The whole argument lasted but a second. As Timeless made up his mind, he responded to Louise. "Don't worry Louise. I was never planning on taking his life. Maybe scare him a bit but never kill. I might be immortal now but I remember my life from before and that has made it so that life is high on my value list. Besides, this small feud is not worth death. He just needs to learn that. That and that he should take a warning when it is given. Don't worry, neither of us will be harmed. That, I promise."

* * *

Timeless walked onto the Vestri Court with Louise by his side. A crowd had already started to develop, forming a circle around Guiche. Both Louise and Timeless walked into the circle, which parted and closed after them.

"Guiche, stop this nonsense right now. It is your own fault for cheating on both girls and getting busted for it. My familiar has done nothing to warrant this action. Besides, it is forbidden to duel on school grounds." Louise said in a last attempt to stop the duel from happening.

"Your familiar has done nothing _but_ warrant this action. He has been disrespectful to us nobles from the moment you summoned him and now he was ignorant enough to make two girls cry. If it wasn't for him, both Katie and Montmorency would have been fine. Oh and yes, duels are forbidden but they are only forbidden between nobles. I know for sure that he is no noble. Now, stand back and watch me teach _your_ familiar some manners." Guiche said confidently.

Timeless then turned to Louise. "You tried to warn him. Like I said, he needs to learn to take a warning when it's given, twice now. Anyway, I don't know what will happen and as your protector, I must leave you with very capable protection but first, could you hold my cloak? It is easier manoeuvring without it." At that Timeless took down his hood, unclasped his cloak and gave it to Louise.

Louise knew what his face looked like and was not as taken aback by the scar as the rest of the spectators were. What she was taken aback by was his muscular arms and chest and his clothing style. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a high neck, large black pants with chains hanging on the side and what looked like an hourglass hanging from it. Around his wrist were multiple wristbands with what looked like a tiny machine attached to every one of them. The silver ring on his finger stood out greatly against his black fingerless gloves. Louise noticed that Timeless' arms had a few scars on them. They seemed old but most of them looked like they were lethal when delivered. She wondered just what he had to do to become king of the dead.

Timeless moved his left hand to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Remembering what happened last time she heard that, she moved her eyes to the sky trying to find the metal bird that listened to the whistle.

The large bird came into view a few seconds later. It let out a loud screech before making a dive towards Timeless. It did not, however, land on Timeless' shoulder or arm but instead circled around and stayed in the air just behind Louise's shoulder. Louise figured this was the protection he spoke of. How he commanded it to stay by her side without a verbal command was beyond her.

The silence was yet again broken by Timeless, whom had moved forward towards the middle of the circle but far away from Guiche. "As you are so adamant on teaching me the right manners, how about you show me how a 'nobleman' fights. I have wasted enough time on these trifle matters." Timeless said.

Guiche ignored the patronizing tone in Timeless' voice as he responded smugly. "As you wish, _familiar_. Come forth." Guiche swung his wand, which was a red rose, and from the rose fell a single petal. Upon touching the ground, a flash of light appeared and from there rose a suit of armour equipped with a lance. As the suit got into a battle stance Guiche spoke again with a grin on his face. "I am Guiche the Brass. As such a Brass Golem, a Valkyrie, will be your opponent."

Timeless frowned. "If this is the best you can do than you really don't have what it takes to challenge me." Timeless told the mage.

"I highly doubt that." Guiche said still full of confidence, after which he ordered his Valkyrie to attack. It charged Timeless and threw a sloppy punch. Timeless, who had seen this move miles away, simply sidestepped. He grasped the arm and using the Valkyries momentum swung the Valkyrie over his head and slammed it into the ground creating a crater upon impact. The Valkyrie cracked and fell apart moments later. Taking the lance, which survived the crash, in hand he turned back around to Guiche.

"Like I said, you are wasting my time." Timeless sighed with a neutral expression, leaning on the lance he just acquired. "But I have an idea. This battle would be for nought if we don't learn from it, right? So how about this, when I win I suggest you go to the girls and apologise. Of course this means that you will never two-time again. No one should mess with another's heart, it hurts more than you can imagine. Trust me, I speak from experience. After apologizing to the two ladies, you will apologise to my master as you have robbed us of our peaceful tea break. It was supposed to be a time to get to know your familiar better but we are still no closer to knowing one another than during breakfast. Lastly, I wish to continue our time as friends. You have shown guts, confidence and persistence. Though it was directed at me in a bad way, I still admire that. So what do you say, Lord Guiche?"

During his speech, Timeless expression had changed from a neutral expression to a friendly one, one that would have convinced anyone with half a brain that his intentions were true and that he meant no harm to come to anyone.

Guiche hesitated. On one side, he knew he was wrong for cheating on the girls. He could also see that Timeless really didn't want to battle him meaning that he had his heart in the right place. Guiche could see that Timeless could have easily taken him out and claimed victory as he possessed a great deal of strength. There weren't many people that would be so sincere if they possessed the strength Timeless had.

On the other side, he was a noble and on his father's name, he would not go down without a fight. He had a reputation to uphold. Yielding to a commoner, no matter how strong, is simply not an option. Not before he had tried his best.

"A noble never yields." Guiche said too soft for anyone in the crowd to hear but Timeless heard him perfectly with his enhanced senses. Timeless stood up straight again and prepared for the next wave. He had hoped that Guiche would stop this nonsense but it seems that his luck still wasn't that good.

Guiche righted himself with a look of persistence and slight anger. Whether it was directed had Timeless or at himself, Timeless could not decide.

Guiche swung his wand three times and six petals fell from the wand creating six Valkyries. They all charged at Timeless at the same time. It seemed to Timeless that this was a desperate attempt on Guiche's side to regain his honour. Timeless sighed and a very serious expression appeared on his face. Then suddenly, faster than anyone could blink, Timeless stood in front of Guiche with the tip of the lance at his throat. The Valkyries stopped moving and a second after that, all six fell apart.

It was silent for a moment where everyone tried to process what just happened.

Guiche's knees buckled and his fell to his knees in utter shock. The crowd started cheering. Timeless threw away the lance as he took a few steps back and squats in front of Guiche drawing his attention back to him.

"I-I give up." Guiche said in despair, not believing that he had lost. "How? How did I lose? You are supposed to be a peasant familiar. Peasants can't win against nobility." Guiche cried out.

"Your overconfidence and pride was your downfall, that and your choice in opponents. I didn't warn you for nothing, you know. Besides, you should never just make assumptions. You don't know me so how can you tell that I am a 'normal' peasant." Timeless said with a shrug. "I wish to change that. You have shown that you are persistent, confident to a stupid level, brave and loyal. I can use that. If you let me help you show you how respect _all_ life, than you will be truly respected for the noble you are. Besides I need someone to help me get used to this place. So, what do you say, Guiche the Brass?" Timeless said with a slight smile, holding out his hand.

Guiche looked at Timeless' hand, than into his eyes and back to his hand. He sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what Timeless had said. After seven long seconds, Guiche took Timeless' hand and Timeless pulled him back to his feet. "O-okay. If you can make me respected again, then I don't mind helping you along the way." Guiche said hesitating at first but he sounded sure in the end.

"Great!" Timeless beamed. "Now, first things first. I think it is time for you to make amends with the two girls from before. I bet that their day is kind of ruined and you are the only one able to fix that." Timeless put an arm around Guiche's shoulder and pointed to where Katie had run off to. "Be sincere and honest. That is the best way to apologise to a lady. Make sure that she knows that you know that you were wrong and have learned your lesson. They will still be hurting when you've done that but they will come around in due time. Now go." Guiche nodded and walked away.

Louise came up to Timeless. "I must say, I am impressed. Not only are you a great fighter, strong and fast but you are also considerate. Giving advice on women... well done. How do you know all this?" Louise stood with her arms crossed and her head held high but her tone and eyes told Timeless that she was truly impressed but also curious and approving. Timeless turned to her and shrugged his shoulders. "When you're married as long as I am, you know women almost as well as they do themselves. Besides, I can feel my wife's emotions, so when there is something wrong, it is easy to feel which treatment she responds to best. She might be a hard rocker and a merciless strategist at times but she is still a woman with feelings like any other."

"Hmmm, yes, that makes sense." Louise hummed. "Well, now that the duel is over together with the free periods, how about you escort me to class. And after class we have to talk about your show during the duel. Like how you were able to destroy the six Valkyries' so fast that no one saw you. I am also curious about the many scars on your arms and the one on your face but I will leave that for later. For now we have to go and pick up my books from my room before we go to class. Oh, and we have to ask Old Osmond for a room near me for you." Louise started walking back to the dorms with a straight face. Then she remembered that she was still holding onto Timeless' cloak. He held out her arm with the cloak whilst she kept walking. Timeless got up to Louise and took back his cloak, put it on and pulled up the hood. Contemplating the fact that everyone had already seen his face, he decided to take the hood down again.

Cogwheel landed on his shoulder as they walked into the dorms. Timeless patted his head for a second before turning back and looking down to his right wrist. He looked at the three watches he had around his wrist, thinking about tinkering with the one he used in the duel when he had a moment before looking at the ring around his finger. He fingered the ring for a moment before looking back ahead of him, lost in thought.

Making friends is nice and all but if the other rings fall into the wrong hands then they are all in mortal danger. He needed to get on with his mission before it is too late and as he cannot see into the future as well as Clockwork even without all the magic in this world, he'd better get to it sooner rather than later…

* * *

 **Until next time! Love**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone,**

 **Another chapter finally uploaded. Thank you so much for sticking with me.  
Also thank you so much for the many favorites and followers this story now has. Didn't think it would be this big so soon.  
Now, without further undo, enjoy chapter three of Timeless in Halkegina!  
Remember reviews are welcome ;-) **

_Chapter 3_

"Fire, Water, Earth and Air create a different, stronger effect by combining parts of multiple elements together. Furthermore, a mage's level is determined by if and how many elements he or she can combine. Can anyone tell me what those levels are?" The teacher asked.

"Yes ma'am." Said Montmorency, standing up. Montmorency looked still slightly pissed and she ignored Guiche's tries to make contact with her but the red in her eyes for her previous crying had disappeared.

The teacher nodded for her to continue. "Single elemental mages are point mages, two elements line, three triangle and four elemental mages are squares." Montmorency said before sitting back down.

"Very good. Unless I am mistaking, most of you can only use one element, is that correct?" The teacher asked for confirmation.

Kirche stood up and spoke up, not waiting for the teacher to give her permission to speak. "Pardon me Miss Chevreuse, but there is someone here who can't use one single element. One with a zero percent success rate." At that statement all the students turned to look at Louise.

Timeless frowned at what they were implying but didn't miss Louise stiffening at the comment. Of course he would not have it.

Standing up he spoke. "Aah, but that is not entirely true, now is it? For if it was, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" Timeless said with a neutral expression, crossing his arms. "Nor would she be able to call me her familiar. I also highly doubt that she would be joining this very lesson if that was true, wouldn't she, Ms. Chevreuse?." Timeless continued, turning to the teacher.

Ms Chevreuse nodded. "That would be correct." She confirmed. "Thank you ma'am." Timeless said with a slight bow before turning back to Kirche. "Now as you can see, what you just said is untrue. As such, I want to ask you to not make up another lie. It makes me uncomfortable hearing you say ill words about my master. Please refrain from doing so in the future." Timeless said before he sat back down and started messing with one of the watches on his right wrist. The student were gaping at him. He just spoke up against a noble and told her off all the while acting like it was nothing.

What Kirche said next changed expressions on quite a few male students from gaping in surprise to glaring in hatred. "I am sorry if that made you uncomfortable. How about I fix that when you come by my room later? I am sure I can make you forget about all about this little 'mix up'." Kirche said with a sultry voice and a wink, forgetting they were still in a classroom.

Louise nearly choked when she heard and saw that. "You stay away from my familiar, Zerbst!" She shouted in anger before she felt a hand being gently placed on her shoulder. She turned to Timeless who still wore the neutral expression.

"That won't be necessary for I have to politely decline that offer." Timeless said, though Louise was not sure if he was responding to her or Kirche. Probably both.

"Oh, are you sure about that? I can be very good company." Kirche said, trying to convince Timeless.

"Very sure." Timeless replied. "There is only one for me and I am sorry to say that it is not you. Besides, I can tell that there are enough others who would _love_ to keep you company and I would hate to deny them that opportunity." Timeless said before turning back to his watch.

Kirche was surprised. She was never turned down by a man. Instead giving up, she got rather 'excited' as she plotted ways to win him over. No man said no to Kirche Zerbst and _Timeless_ would be no different. Someone with guts to threaten a noble, win a duel against said noble, having a body as toned as his _and_ being Valliéres familiar… ha, he will stand no chance.

"Right, now that is quite enough of that. Miss Zerbst, if you would be so kind as to sit down and not interrupt my lessons any further." Ms Chevreuse said before continuing the lesson.

Timeless stared at the board in frustration as he tried to learn how to read the new characters that made up the local writing and about the magic in the land but he wasn't having much luck. When he asked questions about the Alchemy when dealing with magic on an atomic level, neither the teacher nor the students knew what he was talking about. Their level of scientific knowledge on how the world worked without magic was laughable. Everyone and everything in this world seemed to rely solely on magic. He soon shut up as he saw that the others were getting annoyed at his questioning and he also knew he wasn't going to get any useful information if he kept going.

When the class ended and the students were heading to their next classes Timeless decided to ask Louise a question he was thinking about since the beginning of class. "If I may ask, what is the deal between you and Miss Zerbst? She seems to pick on you more than the others. And what did she mean by you not being able to use a single element? You are capable of magic or else I wouldn't be here so what was she talking about?"

"You are right. The Zerbst and the Valliére families have been bitter rivals for generations. This is one of the main reasons why she likes to pick on me." Louise responded. She wondered for a second whether she should tell him the other reason or not. But after contemplating that it would be better to hear it from her rather than from someone else, she continued.

"That and that I have been unable to perform any spell without blowing up the place. Remember the explosion when you arrived here? Another spell which literally backfired. That is why I am called Louise the Zero. You'll probably hear that a couple of times." Louise sighed.

Timeless thought about this for a second before he extended his senses a bit, risking someone seeing his aura. What he sensed from Louise was not what he expected. She said that she was unable to perform any spell but that would mean that she was practically incapable of magic. That is contradicted what Timeless felt. He felt a great amount of what he could only call raw magic. Untamed magic. It felt very different from what he felt from the headmaster the day before. He would have to look up some information on this for it had the potential to be very dangerous. Of course that would be after he learned how to read…

Louise raised an eyebrow at the thoughtful expression on Timeless' face. "Fam…. Timeless? Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine, just a lot on my mind. Shall we go to the next class before we are too late?" Timeless said before walking to the next class, Louise quickly following behind.

Timeless and Louise arrived at the next class. Before Timeless could walk inside however, Louise stopped him. "I think it would be best if you wait outside during the lessons. The others don't really like the fact that you ask so many questions. Besides, we still have to ask headmaster Osmond for a room for you near me. I think now would be a good moment to do so." Louise told Timeless.

Timeless thought about this for a moment. He didn't really want to leave her alone with the bullies in the class. On the other hand, she has been able to fight them off herself before. Besides, she has a feisty character if she wants it.

"Excellent idea Louise. He might even be able to answer some of my questions. I'll meet you after class to walk you to your next class, if you wish it." Timeless said with a slight bow. "Very well. I'll see you then." Louise said before turning around and walking into the classroom. At that Timeless stood back up and walked away towards the big tower in the centre.

"So if you could arrange me a room near Louise, than that would be great." Timeless said to headmaster Osmond.

"I see. I'll see what I can do for you. Anything else I can help you with?" Osmond responded, waving to his assistant Miss Longueville to make a note for her to look up on it and arrange it after the meeting.

"Well, yes as a matter of fact, there might be something that you can help me with. I found out that the writings in this land are different than I am used to and thus am unable to read it. As I have a few things on which I wish to do some research, I require learning the new writings. If you know someone who could teach me, than that would be greatly appreciated. I am a fast learner so it shouldn't take too long." Timeless said with his hand on his chin as if to think.

Osmond stroked his beard and turned to look at Colbert who had been in the room since the beginning of the meeting. Osmond turned back to Timeless. "I can arrange that for you but if you don't mind me asking, what would it be that you wish to research?" Osmond asked curiously.

"I don't mind you asking, Lord Osmond. I was sent here with a mission, unfortunately I cannot tell you what that mission is but it is important that I get to it as soon as possible. To be able to fulfill this mission, I need to do some research on your history, magic and special artifacts. Of course I am also interested in getting to know what roll my kin has in this world. Lastly, I found something this morning and I can't make heads nor tails of it." Timeless said before gaining a very thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe you can solve the last mystery."

As Timeless said the last part, he removed his left glove. "I found out this morning that some strange runes have appeared on my hand but I can't remember when or how that happened. Maybe you know what they mean?" Timeless continued, showing his hand to the headmaster, Colbert looking over the headmasters shoulders.

Both Osmond's and Colbert's eyes widened as they stared at Timeless' hand. Osmond broke the silence first. "Miss Longueville, if you could start looking for a room for young Timeless here." Timeless almost chuckled at that comment as he was probably just as old as the headmaster, maybe even older, but he withheld it.

"Very well sir." Longueville bowed before walking out of the door and closing it, but not before she looked at the runes from the corner of her eyes.

After she had left the room, Colbert turned to the headmaster. "Could it be? The first Void mage in millennia's in our school!" Colbert was ecstatic. Osmond was far more collected but Timeless could see a glint in his eyes. "So it seems, Jean. And in the youngest Valliere daughter no less. Truly remarkable."

Timeless was getting a bit annoyed. The two men were happy with the runes and what they could mean but so far Timeless still didn't know what that would be and they were on _his_ hand! Also the only name called so far was Louise's and her being a 'void mage' whatever that would mean.

"Gentlemen, I hate to break up this geeking out of yours but would you be so kind as to tell me what these runes actually mean?" Timeless said with crossed arms. Colbert looked startled at Timeless as if he had forgotten that he was still there.

Colbert cleared his throat and took up his serious expression again but the excitement hadn't left his eyes. "My apologies, Timeless but those are very special runes. These runes have not been seen since the great Brimir died, 6000 years ago." At Timeless' confused expression Colbert explained further. "The Great Brimir is our Founder and the first Void mage to exist. The second void mage we know off since his death is Louise Valliere, your master. You must know that void is an extremely rare element and is extremely powerful."

Timeless nodded but was still confused. "Okay, so void is a rare element as the last time it was used it was used by someone whom you look at as your founder. But what does that have to do with me and the runes on my hand?"

Osmond answered this question. "I believe you joined this morning's lesson on elemental magic, am I right?" He asked Timeless who in turn nodded. "In class it was explained that more powerful spells could be created by combining elements. There is a downside however to these powerful spells and that is that it takes time to charge the spell, leaving the caster vulnerable. With void magic being so powerful, spells take a long time to charge. To protect himself during casting, Birmir had four familiars. Gandarlfr, the protector and weapon of Birmir, Windalfr, whom had the ability to control and converse with animals, Mjodvitnir whom was also called the Mind of God and Lifprasir, Heart of God. This is where you come in. You see, as Louise is a void mage she gets one of the four familiars of Birmir. You, or as the runes on your hand describe, Windalfr. You are prove that Louise is a void mage and that she is destined to do great things with you by her side."

Timeless was speechless. This was big. He now knew why he could understand Illococoo and he also understand what Louise meant by not being able to use a single element and why he felt the powerful magic radiating of her. As no one has heard or seen anything of this kind of magic maybe he could try and train her. After all, it is just like learning a new ghost power, right? It felt almost the same as his own powers.

Then it hit him. She was destined to do great things with _him_ by her side, meaning that he would have to stay here until her passing. Timeless groaned. He really didn't want to give up his freedom like that. He had his own duties, his own dimension to take care of. A family he would have to leave. ' _My luck really ran out for good didn't it?'_ Timeless thought shaking his head in his hands.

Colbert and Osmond did not respect this reaction from Timeless and looked at each other with confusion and curiosity.

"Timeless, are you not happy that Louise destined to do great things. Your master could change the world as we know it." Colbert said to Timeless who looked up through his fingers before righting himself and pull a hand through his hair.

"Yes it nice for Louise that she has so much potential but with her suddenly being a void mage, the first one in six _thousand_ years, she will be expected to do things that might get her in danger. In my opinion, she is far too young and inexperienced to be in such a position. Also I just can't help thinking of my own realm and _wife_ whom I have to leave behind to help her accomplish these 'great things' that she is destined for." Timeless sighed and crossed his arm. "Don't get me wrong, I am happy that she is not the 'Louise the Zero' her classmates claim her to be but it is very two sided." Timeless finished.

Osmond had his elbows resting on his desk and his hands folded so his chin could lean on it. He looked at Timeless with a thoughtful expression. He knew Timeless was right. Louise had no experience with magic because void users can't use the basic elements and as she is the first recorded void mage in a long time, there was no one there to effectively teach her. And if her status was brought out, there would be no doubt that she would be used in various situations which the headmaster rather not thought of. He cared for all his students and staff and he rather not sent her off to some war because of her 'abilities'.

He looked Timeless in the eyes. "I suggest we keep this a secret. She is much safer if there is no knowledge of her being a void mage. Unfortunately, because void is so rare, we have no teacher to teach her the ways of void and though we will keep this silent, we need her to learn how to control and use her magic." Osmond was silent for a moment before he addressed Timeless. "What do you suggest we do for now, Timeless?"

Both Colbert and Timeless were startled by the question. Timeless had no knowledge of magic and just arrived in this world the day before and yet the headmaster was asking his opinion on how to teach one of his students magic.

"Well…" Timeless started, holding his chin between his fingers. "When Louise talked about not being able to use a single element, I reached out and felt the kind of magic she possesses and it looks a lot like my own powers. It's raw and untamed, dangerous if not under control. I might not know anything on the elemental magic you use but I do know my own powers and how to control and use them. I could try and train Louise like I was trained but it will have to be in a secluded area as it is going to be intense." Timeless crossed his arms and looked at Osmond.

"You really are more than you seem, aren't you?" Osmond mumbled too soft for Colbert to hear but Timeless heard it clearly and had a small smirk on his face. "Very well then. You will train with Louise during the elemental magic lessons. She won't be needing them anymore. There is a forest nearby, use that as your training ground. During the other lessons, I will appoint someone to teach you how to read and help you with your research when you require it. Tomorrow is Hollowsday, meaning that there are no lessons. I suggest you take that time to acquire everything you need for the lessons. Costs will be funded by the school but this will go under the table so no one is to know about it. Please, let me know if there is anything else you need."

Timeless uncrossed his arms and held out his right hand to Osmond. When Osmond took his hand, Timeless replied. "Thank you headmaster. I will let Louise know after her classes. Could you get someone ready to teach me reading tomorrow afternoon after our trip to a nearby village? I'd rather not postpone my research and mission any longer."

Osmond sat back down after the handshake. "It will be arranged." He said, concluding the meeting.

At that, Timeless made a slight bow and walked out of the office towards Louise to guide her to her next lesson. During his walk he was thinking of ways to teach the young mage how to tame her unique powers.

' _Theoús_ _ ***'**_ _,_ he thought. He had one hell of a surprise for Louise later.

The bed creaked as Louise let herself fall on it. She sat on the edge of the bed in stupor waiting for realization to hit her. Timeless just told her what she was and what they would be doing during the now useless magic theory lessons. Louise had listened to him in incredulousness and had one eyebrow raised.

"How is this possible? I have never been able to use any magic and now you are telling me that that is because I can control the lost element in the pentagram? That's ridiculous! How dare you make such cruel jokes!" Louise shrieked.

Seeing that this wasn't going to go anywhere soon he decided that it would be best to show her.

"I'll prove it to you Louise but to do so I need you to help me out. I need you to sit in the middle of the bed and cross your legs and clear your mind." Timeless told Louise, still calm. He needed her to calm down and face the facts. Starting by letting her be aware of her magic.

Louise huffed and contemplated just ignoring the order but she was curious on what he would show her. So Louise crawled to the centre of the bed and crossed her legs.

"Now what?" she demanded to which Timeless responded, still calm. "Now you clear your mind. Close your eyes and breathe in slowly. Focus on your heartbeat. Clear your mind." Timeless stood at the end of the bed, arms crossed, watching her follow his instructions.

Louise glared at Timeless for a second before she relaxed and did as he told her. She sat there for what felt like hours but was actually five minutes before she lost her patience.

"What is the point of this! I am sitting here, breathing, clearing my mind and nothing's happening. You told me you would prove to me that I am a void mage but so far nothing's happened. What are you trying to accomplice here!" Louise all but shouted at him in exasperation.

Timeless stood at the end of the bed still with arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face.

"You did not clear your mind. You succeeded in relaxing your body for twelve seconds before you let your thoughts rule again. You need to try harder. You cannot expect me to show you anything if you don't work with me to so if you want to know, do it properly."

Louise grumbled but did as she was told. He might be her familiar but he could be very intimidating without even trying. And she wasn't even talking about his killer bird who looked down on her from his perch on the closet.

Louise was trying, truly she was, but she had a hard time concentrating on her heartbeat. Timeless saw the confliction on her face. He sighed before he sat sideways on the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Louise opened her eyes and looked at Timeless who looked at her with a reassuring smile. "Why isn't it working?" Louise sighed.

"You think too much. You are thinking about what the others said about you and what they would say if you told them you were a void mage. You are thinking about how much of a failure you have been and about how it will always be that way. You are also thinking about what your family would say and that they wouldn't believe you if you told them." Louise's shoulders shagged and she looked at her hands in her lap.

Timeless gave her shoulders a short nudge and looked her straight in the eyes when she looked up. He spoke with sincerity and she could see he truly believed what he said next. "You. Are. Not. A. Failure. You are in fact the strongest mage they will ever meet in their whole lives. You are strong, not because you have a special type of magic but because you are strong willed. You kept going even when everyone told you to give up because you could never be anything else than 'Louise the Zero'. You kept trying even when you knew it would blow up in your face, literally." Timeless gave her a smile that Louise copied though hers was smaller, tears filling her eyes. "You kept your head high and kept going forward. Louise, you are so much more than what the others will ever even come close to _understand_. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Louise's smile grew and she was on the brink of crying. Before she let herself though, she wiped her eyes with the palm of her hands and looked at Timeless again with determination in her eyes. Timeless was smiling kindly at her and nodded before he stood back up and leaned against the closet as Louise took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She would prove to everyone what she was worth starting by accepting her power. She was still a bit skeptical about her being a void mage, but Timeless would never lie to her and he was thoroughly convinced that she was a void mage.

Louise relaxed and steadied her breathing, concentrating on her heartbeat. She ignored all the negative thoughts that tried to rule her mind and instead focussed on what Timeless had said.

Timeless saw her relax and her breathing and heartbeat slowed. He stood up straight again and kept watching as Louise's face relaxed. "Good. Now look inside yourself and try and find your magic core. Your core is the source of your powers and if properly trained, can act as a second heart. As such, you should be able to feel the magic flow throughout your body. Try and direct a tiny piece of that magic towards your hand and let it materialise."

Louise listened to Timeless' calm and soft voice whilst she looked for the core he spoke of. At first she found nothing as she did not know what she should be focussing on. Just before she lost her patience she felt a light thrumming slightly to the right of her heart. She focussed on it and she felt the thrumming get more prominent. She felt certain energy around it which she hadn't found when she focussed on her heart. She realized that she had found her magic core and tried to follow the energy that spread through her body. As she got familiar with the feeling and the energy she tried to get a small potion to go to her hand. It wasn't easy but now that she found what Timeless spoke of and saw the truth in his words, she wasn't about to give up. She focussed harder on what she wanted the energy to do and pushed it down towards her right hand which lay palm up on her knee.

Timeless was watching Louise for seven minutes before he saw a change in her expression. Exasperation was slowly crawling across her face before it changed to confusion and curiosity and then to surprise. He then saw it change to pride before it relaxed again. Another six minutes later it changed again to persistence. Her brows furrowed as she laid her right hand palm up on her knee. A small spark came from her hand and Timeless couldn't wipe the smile of pride of his face. He uncrossed his arms in case he had to step in quickly ' _It is still a raw and untamed power after all.'_ A small ball materialised in Louise's palm and was thrumming with energy and the light shown brighter or dimmed down on the steady beating of her heart.

Slowly Louise opened her eyes and saw the glowing ball of energy on her palm. The proud look on Timeless' face made that she smiled brightly at her success.

"Well done, Louise. You are a very fast learner. It took me hours to be able to do that for the first time." Timeless said. Louise's smile grew even more at the compliment before it changed to a look of confusion.

"I thought you couldn't use magic?" Louise asked confused. Timeless looked at her in surprise. "You only now wonder about that? Hmmm. Well, I did say I was unable to use magic but if you were to compare my powers to magic, _your_ magic, than I would say that it is kind of the same." Timeless shrugged.

"Could you show me?" Louise asked Timeless, voice laced with curiosity. Timeless laughed softly before his eyes glowed a stunning ice blue. He leaned down and held his left hand out besides Louise's hand and a light blue crystal formed which spun around slowly.

"This is one of my powers, cryokinesis, the power of creating and manipulating ice. The ice that I create is different than your everyday ice. It can stand heat up to 250 degrees, doesn't have to be very cold and is extremely durable. I can make weapons and armour out of it and it will stand being knocked into several buildings and blasts without a scratch. Of course I had to train for several years before getting to the point where I am now. Now I don't know how exactly your magic works but I will train it the same way I was trained, though we will try different methods to decide which one works best with your core. The training will be hard and intense. Because of this we will need some new clothing for you, clothes in which you can train. We are also going to need a sword. Sword fighting might be nothing for a noble because they have their magic, but I use sword fighting for more than attacking and defending as it can also be used as training and controlling your movements and reflexes. We will also meditate as it will give you a better grasp on what your magic is and how it works."

The crystal dissolved as Timeless closed his hand and stood back up. Louise looked at the glowing orb still in her hand, took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she closed her hand around it. She forced it back inside and the orb dissolved like Timeless' crystal.

When the orb was gone, Louise felt tired. Timeless had a small smile on his face as he watched her eyes droop.

"Rest. Holding the orb for as long as you did and finding your core must have drained you. I'll let a maid bring you some food to your room later but for now rest. I will be in the room at the end of the corridor if you need me." Timeless said whilst Louise lay down on her bed. She was out before her head hit the pillow.

Timeless turned the blankets intangible, phased them through her and laid them over her sleeping form. He then turned around and left the room in search of a maid.

He found one when he walked out to the inner court and asked her to bring some food to Louise after an hour. Timeless walked further into the court and sat down against one of the towers with the best view.

The sun had begun to set and made the hills in the distance look like they were alight. Timeless had missed sights like these in the Ghost Zone where everything is green, black or purple.

He sat there just looking had the setting of the sun. Coqwheel had landed on his shoulder a few minutes ago, enjoying the silence with Timeless.

He saw Siesta walk over to him from the corner of his eyes and turned to look at her. She waved at him as she came closer.

"Hello Time… Danny. How are you this evening?" Siesta asked Timeless, remembering what he had told her to call him.

"Good evening Siesta. Just enjoying the sunset. How are you?" Timeless responded with a kind smile.

"On my way to the kitchens to get something to eat. Did you already eat something?" Timeless blinked before he rubbed the back of his neck. "Err no, I was kind of got up in something and totally forgot about eating myself." Timeless responded, a bit embarrassed about his situation.

"Oh well, if you come with me I am sure we can fix you something." She said as she offered her hand which Timeless gladly took. "Thank you Siesta. You are the best."

Siesta turned her head away as a small blush crept onto her face.

The kitchen were still bustling with activity as the workers worked to clean up after the noble's dinner. Timeless felt rather rude for asking for a meal when everyone was still busy. The head chef laughed wholeheartedly at his antics and gave him some soup and fresh bread and some leftover meat for Cogwheel who took it gratefully.

Timeless enjoyed the meal. He didn't eat a lot as he no longer required it, but he still loved dinnertime and the soup and the fresh, homemade bread was delicious. When he had finished his meal, he thanked the chef for the delicious meal.

"I am glad you liked it, Our Sword but these were honestly just the leftovers from the nobles. It is nothing special." The chef replied with a deep but kind voice.

"You really are too humble sir. I'm sorry but what did you say? Our Sword? What did you mean by that?" Timeless asked confused.

"I called you our Sword as you had the guts to stand up to a noble and win. We, as peasants, would not dare to defy the nobles yet you did just that. We look up to you for that." The chef explained.

"I am honoured that you think that but you really shouldn't. I did not defy Guiche. I merely taught him a lesson on how to value life and respect others. Of course I also added the lesson that he is not to ignore a warning when given but I was mostly focussing on the first two lessons. Besides, I knew from the moment Louise mentioned that duals were forbidden that he had not experience in battle, whatsoever. I won the match before it even begun. Luckily he learned one of his lessons already. The others still have to be seen." Timeless said shrugging.

"You speak with wisdom and experience. I am assuming that you lived through some stuff?" The chef asked curiously.

"More that I'd like to admit." Timeless said with a sigh.

Timeless and Siesta stayed in the kitchen for a while before he decided that he had some things he wanted to think about and left the kitchens with Siesta in tow. He walked Siesta to her room and bid her goodnight after which he walked to his new room.

Timeless sighed. This was only his second day here and so much had happened and so much he had learned. Even so, there was still more he needed to learn and do before he could return home, if he could at all before Louise's passing. He really didn't want to have to wait a lifetime before he could return to his realm.

Timeless sighed again as he heard a door open behind him. He kept facing forward though as he continued his way to his room. He did turn around however when Kirche called out for him.

"Good evening Miss Kirche. You called?" Timeless asked with a neutral expression.

Kirche's head popped out of the door and she looked at him with a sultry expression and curled her index finger a couple of times. Timeless withheld the urge to roll with his eyes as he stepped closer to Kirche. He knew what she was going to try and he would let her know just what he thought of it.

When he was almost by the door, Kirche stepped forward in what was a very exposing outfit and latched to his left arm as she all but dragged him into her room. Timeless did not expect her to be so impatient and stumbled into the room while Kirche closed the door.

She turned back around to Timeless and sauntered to him, hips swaying all the way. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed he chest against his. Timeless looked away and took a deep breath to stay calm and keep his emotions under control, his wife did not need to know about Kirche for she would make sure Kirche would never see the light of day again.

Kirche tried to coach Timeless to the bed but Timeless would not have it. He phased out of her grip. Kirche stood still, shocked at what she saw. She snapped out of it when Timeless started ranting.

"Why are you so determined to get me all over you? Do you not have any self-respect? You are flirting and playing with so many boys, creating a rather unpleasant reputation for yourself. Why would you ever want to do that to yourself?" Timeless sighed, calming down from his rant. He continued after he calmed down a bit, this time calm and sympathetic. "Kirche, you are doing what I told Guiche to stop doing. He got his ass kicked over it. He saw his mistake and is trying to fix it and I will help him along the way. I can do the same for you. Tell me what has forced you to stoop so low and let me help you fix it. You are worth so much more than you let yourself believe right now. I know you possess a great deal of magic and I saw in class today that you also have a good brain in that head of yours. Use it and you will see that you do not need to lower yourself to this level to get where you wish to be. Let me help you and I can help you see it too. You do not need me in your bed to have me as your friend. Will you let me help you, Miss Kirche?" Timeless asked Kirche, a gentle smile on his face and his hand out in a friendly manner like he did with Guiche.

Kirche looked at Timeless' hand in stunned silence. She never thought there would be anyone who would look past her looks and flirting to tell her she was more than just that. Looks. She was always looked at as if she was a price to be claimed, a toy to be played with. After a while she figured out a way to use that. She would show everyone that she was the one with the power to get what she wanted by using the one who could get it before dumping them like they were nothing. She was the one to make the rules. But even with everything she could have wanted, she never felt happy, valued for who she was not for what she looked like.

Suddenly there is Timeless, saying exactly that which she wanted, needed to hear. He was being honest, kind and offering her to help her out, to let the world see who she really was instead of what. She also noticed that he not once looked away from her face to look at the rest of her exposed body. He was a true gentleman, honourable and kind. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help to be even more attracted to him but now she would claim him in a different way. With patience and friendship first before she would try and win him over but that was for later. Now she was just very happy that someone finally stood up for her and she would grasp the opportunity with both hand and never let go.

Kirche had her hands covering her face as tears started form. Timeless heard a sob and realised that she was crying. It seems that she needed to hear that more than he expected. He took a step closer and closed his arms around her in a hug. Kirche stiffened before she rested her head on his chest and cried for the first time in Birmir knows how long. Timeless comforted her as he sat her down on the edge of the bed. He took of his cloak and draped it around her shoulders. Flame, Kirche's fire salamander familiar, felt his masters' distress and walked to her and rubbed himself against her legs in a comforting manner.

Kirche calmed down after a few minutes. She was still sniffling softly when she looked up at Timeless and gave him a small smile. "Thank you Timeless. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear someone say that to me." Timeless gave her an encouraging smile. Kirche continued with confidence and more strength in her voice. "I will change my ways and show everyone just who I am. I will gain their respect the right way. None of this anymore. I would love to have you as a friend, one who I know will always have my back. That is if you want me to?" Kirche asked Timeless hopefully.

"Of course Kirche. Just tell me if you ever need something okay?" Timeless said as he sent her a charming smile and stood up. "I think it would be a good idea if we both went to bed, you are going to need your rest for tomorrow. Change does not come easy." He said as he turned around and walked towards the door.

Kirche looked at him walking away when she remembered that she still had his cloak. Just before Timeless closed the door she called after him. Timeless turned back around. "Hmm? Ooh, thank you, almost forgot that one." Timeless said embarrassed. He rubbed his neck while he took his cloak with the other. "Thank you, Miss Kirche. Good night." He said with a slight bow before turning around and walking to his room.

Kirche closed her door and walked to her bed. She laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. A blush spread on her face as she felt her heart beat louder than it had done in a long, long time. She gripped on of the pillows behind her and squealed into it. _"So this is what it feels like to truly be in love? If that's so that I hope that this feeling never goes away!"_ Kirche thought, turning onto her side and hugging the pillow close. There would be no sleep for her that night as she kept thinking of the one man that saw her for who she truly was…

 **Sooo, that was another chapter. Unfortunately I do not know how long the next one will take as this is the week where I will finally move back home.  
Also school is due to start next week again. We'll see what happens...**

 **Oh and Theous means Gods in Greek.**


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